National Ranching Heritage Center
Lubbock, TX
Photos
www.ttu.edu/RanchingHeritageCenter , stephanie.gray@ttu.edu
Exit I-27 in Lubbock at Municipal Drive/Exit 5. Continue to 4th Street/US 82, turn west, and go about 2 miles. The center is just past Flint Avenue , on your left.
Free, M-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5
GPS Coordinates: N33 35.419 W101 53.076
The National Ranching Heritage Center is a 30-acre museum and historical park established to preserve the history of ranching and pioneer life in North America . Thirty-six structures, including a depot, train, bunkhouse, one-room schoolhouse, dugouts, ranch headquarters and homes, have been relocated from prominent Texas ranches and reflect life from the late 1700s through the early 1900s. Five vintage windmills grace the grounds. Admission is free.
American Wind Power Center
Lubbock , TX
Photos
www.windmill.org , info@windmill.org
From I-27, take Exit #3, which is 19th Street, and go east approx one mile. Windmills visible on your right.
Donation, Tues-Sat 10-5, Sun 2-5
GPS Coordinates: N33°34'48.1”, W101°49'23.4”
With over 75 windmills on display indoors, and another 30-plus vintage mills spread out over the 28-acre grounds, the center has exhibits that include one of the oldest mills ever made (1868), giant power mills that were used for operating machinery rather than pumping water, the magnificent twin-wheel mill that graces the entrance to the park, and the largest water-pumping mill in North America. The center offers educational programs for children, meeting and event space for organizations, and a unique gift shop and artist s' gallery. A special exhibit for “80 John,” the African-American rancher who put up one of the first windmills in Texas , includes a crescent moon-shaped weight from one of his original mills.
